Slowdown hits service centres worst: EUROMETAL

European steel service centres (SSC) were the most hit among distributors of steel products by the decline in economic activity registered in the continent, EUROMETAL explains in its latest note.

During the first four months of 2020 EU SSC saw shipments fall by -18.5% year-on-year. In April alone their shipments dropped by over -50% y-o-y, after a drop of -17.4% y-o-y in March, Kallanish notes.

The negative trend at SSC, as expected, also significantly pushed up SSC stock indices.

As a comparison, multi-products distributors only saw their shipments fall by -8.7% y-o-y during January-April. In April alone shipments were down -28% y-o-y, confirming that the worse downturn was registered at SSC, which mainly supply the automotive industry.